More sophisticated vehicle condition management is realized with the addition of computers and other electronic components to vehicle systems. However, even with the addition computers, vehicle maintenance is often reactive. In such an example, a vehicle technician may be the first to receive and process data measured by the computer during vehicle activity. Alternatively, with the ubiquity of internet and other wireless connectivity systems, vehicle computers may relay information sensed during vehicle activity to a central server for processing.
In one example, a plurality of information related to a vehicle fault may be provided to the central server. However, portions of the information may be ambiguous and/or irrelevant to the central server. Thus, as recognized by the inventors herein, processing the information and determining what portions of the information are useful may be difficult, time consuming, and expensive.
Other attempts to address providing vehicle information to a remote location include providing vehicle information during a fault code. One example approach is shown by Allemang et al. in U.S. 20120041637. Therein, vehicle information is sent to a remote data storage center in response to a fault code. The information may be used to construct a repair plan to address the fault code of the vehicle.
However, the inventors herein have recognized potential issues with such systems. Often the operator may be taking actions that are at the root of the particular issue being diagnosed, and/or creating situations in which the vehicle restricts its performance to avoid degradation. For example, rapid tip-outs in direct injection engine systems may often create over-pressure situations, but only under certain situations. As another example, rapid tip-ins may create over-pressure situations due to a fuel injector pump working at an increased capacity (e.g., full capacity).
In one example, the issues described above may be addressed by a method comprising sending information from a vehicle to an off-board data analysis system central server in response to a fuel system pressure exceeding a threshold fuel system pressure and receiving processed data from the data analysis system identifying a set of operating conditions during which to display coaching instructions to the operator to reduce fuel system overpressure instances. The set of operating conditions may identify a combination of parameters, which when detected during subsequent vehicle operation concurrently occurring, one or more selected coaching conditions are displayed responsive thereto. The set of operating conditions may also provide a set of partial conditions, which when detected with other predetermined conditions, one or more selected coaching conditions are displayed responsive thereto. In this way, the operator may be notified and/or coached to reduce inputs, such as rapid tip-outs, only under those conditions where such tip-outs may cause fuel system over-pressure.
As one example, the fuel system pressure exceeding the threshold fuel system pressure increases a likelihood of the fuel system becoming degraded. Sending information includes wirelessly sending the information to the off-board data analysis system from a controller with computer-readable instructions for sending fault data of a vehicle to the off-board data analysis system in response to a fault, and comparing one or more engine conditions accompanying the fault of the vehicle to engine conditions of other vehicles experiencing the same fault. The method may further include monitoring a fuel tank fill-up and determining if the fuel tank fill-up quality is lower than a threshold quality (e.g., the fill-up is bad). If the fill-up is bad, then information regarding the fill-up is sent to the central server. The information may include a location of the fill-up. The central server may alert vehicle operators near the location requesting a fuel tank fill-up that the location has provided bad fuel and to fill-up elsewhere. The method may further include monitoring an engine start to determine engine start faults and results thereof. In this way, the method may mitigate and/or prevent future engine start faults by monitoring ambient and/or engine conditions promoting the faults and adjusting engine start conditions accordingly. The method will be described in greater detail below.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.